June 14, 2012
June 7, 2012
Fresh Apricot and Rosemary Iced Tea
Labels: Apricots, FoodFriday, Puerrh tea, rosemary, summer drink
It's California apricot season and one of the things you can make out of them is a summer tea drink. Most recipes I've seen have mint but I opted for rosemary instead. I love it! For the tea I used pu'er which is fast becoming a favorite specially paired with sweet rice cakes and desserts.
May 31, 2012
Brioche Ice Cream Sandwich
Labels: FoodFriday, gelato, ice cream sandwich, Peter Reinhart, poor man's brioche, The Bread Baker's Apprentice
It seems that an Italian version of our beloved Filipino favorite ice cream sandwich on soft monay bun has become very popular here in the US and in Italy. Their ice cream sandwich has gelato on brioche bun which makes the sweet snack super rich.
May 24, 2012
Jap Chae
Labels: FoodFriday, glass noodles, jap chae, Korean
My love for everything Korean hasn't diminished one bit specially food. One of my favorites is Jap Chae, a noodle dish made with sweet potato and cornstarch glass noodles, vegetables, and strips of beef steak simply seasoned with soy sauce, salt, sugar and roasted sesame seed oil. I have made this noodle dish many many times before and I haven't gotten tired of it. It's so delicious just like Korean dramas, movies, and music too. 
May 23, 2012
Fish Ube Jam
Labels: Filipino, haleyang ube, Kulinarya Cooking Club, purple yam, ube jam
You must be wondering why the sweet haleyang ube (purple yam jam) is shaped like a fish. As a small child I used to wonder too as to why this favorite dessert is shaped as such but only during our town's annual festival celebration in honor of its patron saint. The haleya could have been shaped into a large gumamela or kalachuchi but no, year after year I saw a fish haleyang ube not just in our house but the neighbors' too. I'm guessing it has a religious meaning, that is, it's the symbol of Jesus Christ.
May 17, 2012
Cheese Corn Puffs
Labels: cheese corn puffs, cheese powder, FoodFriday, snack
I love cheesy corn snacks like Cheetos, Chiz Curls, and specially Pirate's Booty which I don't see very often in the grocery stores near my house. They are messy to eat and the cheese coating stick to fingers but I love to lick it anyway. Being a copycat, I bought package of puffed corn, baked them on low heat for 10 minutes until crispy then mixed with melted butter and oil before sprinkling with cheddar cheese powder. I think I prefer these than the store-bought because they are not as salty.
May 15, 2012
Wilted Lettuce Salad
Labels: grow your own, Spanish chorizo, wilted lettuce salad
wilted lettuce salad topped with crispy Spanish chorizo
After a few days of non-stop rain, there was an abundance of butter lettuce in my garden pots. I planted only 4 tiny plants and regularly clip the leaves for salad, never uprooting them and more leaves come out after cutting either from the outside or the whole bunch 2 inches from where the leaves come out. This is the first time I planted lettuce and I never knew they yield salad greens all season long.
May 10, 2012
Strawberry Crepe Layer Cake
Labels: crepe layer cake, FoodFriday, strawberries
This crepe layer cake is my lame attempt at making an ombré cake. I was itching to make something with different shades of the same color but was not in the mood to heat up the oven to bake a cake or cupcakes. I thought crepe layer cake would be a better choice and besides I really love crepes. I wasn't successful in making distinct color hues of dark pink to the lightest but the crepe cake is still so delicious. There's an added step of dividing the batter and custard filling into 4 equal portions then adding food dye but it wasn't that difficult nor time consuming.
April 28, 2012
Embutido Sandwich
Labels: crusty pandesal, embutido, food trucks, green mango shake, Kulinarya Cooking Club
Everybody loves delicious, hot, fast, and cheap eats, who doesn't? That's the reason food trucks are becoming more and more the favored lunch providers of office workers and students. Food trucks have been around here in the US since the 50s but only became extremely popular in recent years, even the superstar Spanish chef José Andrés who owns several high end restaurants in the Washington D.C. area and in Los Angeles has joined the food truck mania with his own Pepe Truck. Yeah, that's how hot food trucks are nowadays.
photo R. Lopez
April 26, 2012
Homemade Oat and Quinoa Cereal with Crispy Marshmallows
Labels: crispy crereal marshmallows, FoodFriday, homemade cereal
Have you had Lucky Charms® cereal? I haven't and don't intend to try them but when I saw the recipe for the crispy marshmallows similar to the ones in Lucky Charms, I just had to make some to add to homemade cereal. The recipe says it takes 4 to 6 days to make [and it is a veeery involved process] but my inner ocd kicked in and after 6 days, voila! Crispy cereal marshmallows. I love them with homemade lightly sweetened preservatives-free oats and sprouted quinoa cereal. However, if I get lazy next time I crave for these crunchy treats, I'll just buy from here.
April 20, 2012
No Rise Pizza Dough
Labels: FoodFriday, no rise pizza dough yeast
I was curious when I saw the no rise yeast for pizza dough and after baking one yesterday I can say it's not good at all. The dough doesn't have much flavor nor chewiness; it's just like ordinary bland white bread. I don't recommend it and I believe there is no instant pizza dough that you can mix, knead for 4 minutes, and ready to form, top, bake right away and have a great tasting pizza with the correct texture. Peter Reinhart's Neapolitan Pizza Dough is still the best in my honest opinion. Retarding the pizza dough in the refrigerator for at least one night makes the best tasting pizza dough.
April 13, 2012
Sprouted Seeds Shoots with Yogurt Dressing Salad
Labels: Asian yogurt salad dressing, daikon shoots, FoodFriday, green pea shoots, Salad
salad of green pea and daikon shoots, fresh pineapple, cucumber ribbons,
halved cherry tomatoes, and dried cranberries with Asian yogurt dressing
I started sprouting seeds again when I saw organic radish seeds for sprouting at the grocery store. The packet promises a lightly spicy daikon (radish) flavor which can be eaten raw in salads and sandwiches or lightly steamed and added to stir-fries. Indeed, the sprouts and shoots are very very flavorful and I love them on top of sandwich. I also got a packet of green peas for growing into shoots. I buy the shoots when available from the Asian grocery store but I want to try them raw in salads, when very young and only about 3½ inches tall. They are a little grassy when eaten raw but I like them when added to salad with Asian yogurt dressing.
sweet green pea shoots
daikon seeds shoots
March 29, 2012
March 25, 2012
Ice Candy
Labels: Filipino, ice candy, Kulinarya Cooking Club
honeymansi, watermelon lambanog cocktail, and mango lime
This year, it seems Spring took a vacation somewhere cooler because Summer arrived directly from Winter. Our Yoshino cherries bloomed almost overnight and it's so warm that for the first time we had to turn on our AC in the middle of March. It's perfect timing that our KCC hosts, Arnold and Jun, chose ice candy for this month's theme to cool us off. Thank you guys.
March 22, 2012
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Labels: chocolate chip cookies, FoodFriday, Pierre Herme
March 15, 2012
Mango, Cherry, and Orange Salad with Mint and Moscato
Labels: cherries, FoodFriday, mangoes, mint, moscato, oranges, Salad, spring colors
There're lots and lots of mangoes already at the Asian markets and Costco. I cubed a few pieces and made a very yummy fruit salad with pitted [frozen] sweet cherries and fresh oranges. The salad doesn't have added sugar; the fruits are mixed with cheap sweet wine and chopped mint. Very refreshing and bright, just like Spring.